avant-garde

[ uh-vahnt-gahrd, uh-vant-, av-ahnt-, ah-vahnt-; French a-vahn-gard ]

noun

1. the advance group in any field, especially in the visual, literary, or musical arts, whose works are characterized chiefly by unorthodox and experimental methods.

adjective

1. of or relating to the experimental treatment of artistic, musical, or literary material.
2. belonging to the avant-garde:

   an avant-garde composer.

3. unorthodox or daring; radical:

   To regain public trust in the news media, the organization took the avant-garde approach of including the public in the production of news.

avant-garde

/ avɑ̃ɡard; ˌævɒŋˈɡɑːd /

noun

1. those artists, writers, musicians, etc, whose techniques and ideas are markedly experimental or in advance of those generally accepted

adjective

1. of such artists, etc, their ideas, or techniques
2. radical; daring

Derived Forms

• ˌavant-ˈgardism, noun
• ˌavant-ˈgardist, noun

Other Words From

• a·vant-gard·ist noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of avant-garde¹

First recorded in 1475–85; in sense “vanguard”; from French: literally, “fore-guard;” vanguard

Word History and Origins

Origin of avant-garde¹

from French: vanguard

Related Words

• advanced
• ahead of its time
• cutting-edge
• experimental
• groundbreaking
• innovative
• innovatory
• inventive
• leading-edge
• modern
• new
• new-wave
• original
• pioneering
• progressive
• revolutionary
• state-of-the-art
• trailblazing
• ultramodern